If we don't trade Amar'e, he's going to run to Miami this summer anyway.

It's true. He was born in Florida. Playing with D-Wade would be an honor to him. We can't lose out on value.

We have to trade him. He's not going to sign an extension with a team that's ultimately not going to win a championship.

Some logical/overheard suitors/trades:

-Philly. This doesn't seem to work if they don't want Jason Richardson. What I could see happening is Amare for Iggy and their 2010 draft pick. (The future, just to let everyone know, is not this July, but instead this June. The cards line up for 2010 to be the best draft in history). I don't think Philly would ultimately bite on this one, but if we were to explore any option with Philly it should be that one.

-Miami. Mike Beasley has a PER of 17. Yes, he's been a tad disappointing, it's true. I think he could eat up Steve Nash lobs like a demon. I also think getting a draft pick this draft in a trade is very beneficial. There are a lot of good PF's in the draft that could a) start right away, b) come to us in the late lottery/late teens, where Miami is slated to find itself. Throw in Q-Rich's expiring contract and I think it's a worthwhile deal. Potential lineup:

PG Nash/Dragic

SG J-Rich/Barbosa

SF Beasley/Clark

PF (Motiejunas? Udoh? Monroe?)/Clark

C Lopez/Frye or Frye/Lopez

-Sacramento. Kevin Martin and the 2010 pick, but that's as far as we should go. Anything else and it should fail. Even if one were to get Kevin Martin, though, one would have to trade J-Rich, seeing as their functions are so similar. Who wants J-Rich? Pretty much no one.

PG Nash/Dragic

SG Martin/Barbosa

SF J-Rich/Clark

PF (Cousins? Davis? Favors? Aldrich?)/Clark

C Frye/Lopez or Lopez/Frye

-Houston. Losing Yao this season and their current draft position is a sight for sore eyes. Daryl Morey, genius that he is, certainly will want another post presence. Landry/Battier/Ariza would be a defensive monster on our part. The Rockets would also have massive cap space or, potentially, a ballin' frontcourt. They throw in their draft pick and we look something like this.

PG Nash/Dragic

SG J-Rich/Barbosa

SF Ariza/Battier

PF (Motiejunas? Udoh? Monroe?)/Landry

C Frye/Lopez

-Golden State. They've been throwing this one around for a while, but I believe it to be worthwhile. Anthony Randolph's out for the season, and their position isn't that great even with him. We don't need Biedrins, don't need Ellis, but we're going to get one of them in this deal. The upside would be getting Anthony Randolph and their draft pick, most likely. If they get Amare they won't have room for Randolph, who's got more upside than anyone in the league right now.

PG Nash/Dragic

SG Ellis/Barbosa

SF J-Rich (Turner?)/Clark

PF (Cousins? Favors? Davis?)/Clark

C Frye/Lopez or Lopez/Frye

-Boston. It's probably a long shot, but the Suns could use Kevin Garnett and the Celtics could use someone who can do what Kevin Garnett does and doesn't have the weak knees. There are risks on both sides: Amare might not opt out, and KG might still have weak knees. The counterclaim to those risks are that in a slow tempo environment Amare will be bored and will want to leave, and the Suns' medical staff is the best in pro sports. Hey, what Suns fan wouldn't want to see 25/13/1BLK/1STL/1 3 out of KG one more time, this time in purple and orange?

We have to trade him. We need something in Amare's place. He's going to leave and there's one thing we can do about it.